When we analyze the process of creating blogs we can easily recognize
that there is a pivotal element that determines the degree of success: the content.
Other factors as quality, style, topic, timeliness and variety are all part of
the process of creating an effective blog. But content touches on social media
and engagement, marketing and even branding.
Content is the single biggest focus for anyone who is trying to launch
and expand a site into the mainstream.
Content isn't
limited to what you write, content can mean a
whole spectrum of included work that goes well beyond text. Visual content, for
instance is a primary example, and has been found to have many different
benefits. A good image has become a key
to social media marketing success; images simply grab attention in social media
feeds. Images go viral.
The problem is, more and more businesses, bloggers and publishers are
embracing all sorts of creative visual marketing tactics, so it's getting
harder and harder to stand out.
What you should do to gain an edge in today's business? The answer; diversifying
your visual marketing strategy is
the only way to see better results from your content efforts. Furthermore, by
diversifying, you are able to cover more marketing platforms
(like StumbleUpon, Instagram and Tumblr for example) you wouldn't
have content to post to otherwise.
1) Diversify your sources.
Are you paying monthly subscription at you good old stock image site?
This tactic is getting rather old; stock images are boring and widely
recognizable. Now it's time to diversify.
Here are just a few newer free image sources you could consider:
- IM Free: Large collection/database of great copyright free images to use on your website. Good thing: The images are unique for this site. Unlike stock collections, you won't see them anywhere else on the internet.
- Imonomy: This website serves two functions; first it's a huge database of free images, second thing it's in-image advertising platform; you can use to monetize your images.
2) Create your own images.
Many people still believe that creating your own images is a rather
tough job. The plain truth is, with lots of free tools available on the internet;
almost anyone can create awesome images nowadays.
3) Take your own photos.
When you want something really unique that perfectly fits the post, the
best thing you can do is take your own picture to use. Incredibly, even smart
phones can take absolutely breath-taking photos. After taking your photo
you will need to make some editing. Editing and perfecting your own photos is
not tough too. If you need a heftier photo editing program, and you don't need to learn photoshop; PicMonkey might be a better alternative
for you. It helps you to edit and create images easily, with tools that are
quick to figure out and apply. They even have a huge list of fonts and filters.
4) Create Infographics.
No one can deny that infographics are rapidly growing and becoming very popular
within internet users, especially across social media platforms. Not only do
they allow an endless amount of information to be conveyed in a visual and
easily understood way, but they are easy to share and more likely to catch the
eye than a text based post alone.
There are quite awesome online image editors.
Try Infogr.am or Piktochart. What is great about these is that
it lets you make an infographic without having any idea how. Those of us who
aren't so good with image software can really enjoy the added help.
5) Create visual quotes.
One great way to make a dynamic image with next to no work is by putting
some text over it. This could be a full-image cover with a quote, or just the
title of the blog alongside an image that describes it. This is a great
ego-bait tactic too: Visual-quote an influencer from your niche, tag him/her in
your social media update and you'll most probably get a retweet, re-share and a
follow.
Use Canva to create awesome visual quotes, this is very easy
to use and free. Plus it will store all your templates, so you'll be able to
quickly visual-quote someone else in the future. What I like about this method
is that it says and does so much with so little. Plus, it is very shareable for
sites like Pinterest, which gives it an added benefit and use.
6) User-generate visual content.
Another cool way to create great visuals is to get your users create
them for you. Think of visual contests you come across daily. You can set up
one of your own. It doesn't have to be huge; email your customers and run a
give-away in exchange of a creative photo which you can use.
Use existing services to help you get more out of the initiative. Gurushots.com,
for instance helps you run a photography contest.
And Tomoson lets you engage Instagram influencers; find instagrammers
who will agree to post their selfie with your product.
7) Scale.
With diversifying your visual channels, you are most likely to come
across a new problem: How to keep track. Too many channels will drive you crazy
and monitoring them will be a very hectic process.
Cyfe content marketing can help you to keep an eye on important
metrics, Cyfe supports Facebook, Pinterest, Google Plus (as well as Google Plus
search), Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and many other social media marketing
platforms. It also archives everything it monitors which makes it easy to go
back in time and compare my new experiments and the results from previous
months.
Conclusion:
The bottom line, images can make a huge difference: Once you start
getting creative and looking outside of the box, you'll suddenly see your content
marketing efforts pay off. Use images to:
- Make boring information exciting.
Infographics work great for that. But even simple charts can work very
well. Look at how SiteGeek is making boring hosting comparison fun by
using all sorts of charts.
- Attract attention and entice.
Images will make your visitors stay and engage.
- Stand out in Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus feeds.
Text is boring; look at how many visual memes go viral as compared to
text updates. Images draw clicks.
- Cater to more marketing channels.
Images open up your business to Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and even
Slideshare. Images help you expand your marketing efforts.
Have a tip for
creating images for your blog posts? Let me know in the comments. I would love
to hear from you.
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